Little Theatre tackles provocative 'Assassins'

By Lorraine Lucciola, Standard-Times correspondent

The Little Theatre of Fall River kicks off its summer season at the Firebarn with "Assassins," an exploration in words and music of the troubled and misguided psyches of those who attempt -- and sometimes succeed -- to kill presidents.

The book is by John Weidman, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. While "Assassins" didn't enjoy a very lengthy run on Broadway, Sondheim devotees are still loyal to the piece.

As he was leaving the theater after the opening night performance, one man remarked, "Well ... this must be a real challenge for an actor." He was right.

Under the direction of Stephen Wrobleski, Little Theatre's cast rises to the occasion, demonstrating incredible vocal talent, but also a serious commitment to revealing the internal dialogues swirling in the disturbed minds of the characters they portray.

John Wilkes Booth (Michael Wrobleski), Charles Guiteau (Jay Burke), Leon Czolgosz (Stephen Fiola), Giuseppe Zangara (David Faria), Samuel Byck (Jeff Belanger), Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme (Christine McCartney), Sarah Jane Moore (Robbie Morgan Burke), John Hinckley (Gregory Baptista) and Lee Harvey Oswald (Sean McConaghy) cross paths in this two-hour piece of theater performed without an intermission. They meet as nonchalantly as if they were guests milling about at some cocktail party. At times, their exchanges are just that casual; at other moments, their scenes are literally explosive.

The script attempts to present these true personalities as accurately as humanly possible. "It's about the haves and have-nots," explained Little Theatre President Beverly Robinson. "It's about the American dream ... how anyone can grow up to be president ... and how anyone can grow up and shoot a president."

The opening musical number spouts the lyrics, "Everybody's got a right to their dream." The accompanying stage picture reveals a table spread with an array of handguns.

"What I did was kill the man who killed my country," says John Wilkes Booth. The angry, strongly stated sentiment underlies a self-granted permission, if not an obligation, to right the politics of the day by eliminating the nation's highest political figure.

The theme that we live in a "free country" abounds in lines and dialogue that point to the act of assassination as a right, a responsibility, as home-grown as the concept of freedom itself.

Mr. Wrobleski carefully constructs John Wilkes Booth for us. He presents a charming, bullying, angry man who won't stop until the trigger is pulled. In the final montage of the play, it is Booth who goads Lee Harvey Oswald to action.

Oswald is meticulously played by Sean McConaghy, who has this particular assassin's demeanor and mannerisms eerily down pat.

Mr. McConaghy's presentation of this assassin is almost more startling and provocative than the black and white television and newspaper images etched in our minds, of an otherwise unremarkable man named Lee Harvey Oswald.

Giuseppe Zangara, who attempted to shoot Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is portrayed by David Faria, who never once strays from maniacal determination.

Jeff Belanger, as Sam Byck, who aimed shots at Richard Nixon, brings characteristic professionalism to the role. Mr. Belanger is a strong actor, but really excels at comedy.

In a monologue drenched in blaok humor, Mr. Belanger, seedy and unshaven in a filthy Santa Claus suit, spews into a portable recorder his psychosocial gripes to "Dick."

Robbie Morgan Burke as Sarah Jane Moore teams with Christine McCartney as Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, Charles Manson's willing acolyte. More humor surfaces here, when the unlikely duo can't perfect a plan to shoot Gerald Ford.

When Moore flubs one last time and spills the contents of her purse, loose bullets roll like jellybeans across the floor. She and Squeaky dive to the floor to retrieve them. A man comes up behind them offering help. They accept and ask his name. "My name is Gerry," he replies. "Gerald Ford."

Mrs. Burke does a five-second take, scoops up a handful of bullets and flings them in the air at the disappearing back of Gerald Ford, shrieking, "Bang! Bang!"

As flaky as Mrs. Burke is as Sarah Jane Moore, Ms. McCartney is wonderful as the headstrong Squeaky Fromme. She strikes a balance between ruthless criminal and devoted angel.

Gregory Baptista portrays John Hinckley, the man who seriously injured Ronald Reagan and who, in the process, also sentenced Press Secretary Jim Brady to lifelong disability. Mr. Baptista is frighteningly quiet and appropriately low-keyed, except, of course, when he is professing his obsessive love and devotion to actress Jodie Foster.

Supporting cast members include John Ashley as the Balladeer. Mr. Ashley brings a comforting presence to the action, sometimes even thankfully stopping it, to interject or even to derail the emotion of the moment.

Jane Fiore-Bigelow (musical director) plays Emma Goldman, while Kenny Effress appears as the Proprietor and Bartender. Presidents Garfield and Ford are played by Bing McGrath and Ron Robinson, and the Bystanders are played by Marie Savoie, Holly Ashley, H. Julius Franco, Rob Sirois and Kenny Ettress.

The run of "Assassins" continues at the Little Theatre of Fall River's Firebarn at 320 Prospect St., Fall River at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday evenings and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $12, $10 for seniors and students, and $5 for children 12 and under. "Assassins" contains strong language and situations. For information and reservations, call Little Theatre's box offioe at (508) 675-1852.

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